TGIF

There's a big huge YMCA in the middle of Sydney, aka Phillip Cook Aquatic Center - right next to the Australian Museum. Charlie and I rode the 377 down to it and spent the morning swimming in the pool. On the way, Charlie asked to be the photographer, so I'm in the pictures! This is in a garden that is dedicated to the honor of King George V and King George VI in Hyde Park.


Here I am standing on top of the YMCA, the basketball court, to be precise - it's pretty fascinating to an almost 5 year old that you can stand on the building. It's on a hillside, so the back opens up onto the side of the hill.
And now back to the real star of the show...

It's fun to swim at the Y-M-C-A! There weren't really lifeguards - but very clearly marked signs that guardians should always be within arms length of their children who are 5 and under, except if the guardian is taking pictures for a blog.


Hyde Park has this impressive statue of Captain James Cook, the European who "discovered" Australia. Charlie asked how they turned him into a statue, oh, and, he refused to pose like the statue - really!?

Last week Charlie and I took a shortcut home through the cemetery near our house. He's curious about what exactly is in a cemetery and why there are different ways of marking the sites. He's really impressed by the "ones that look like swords" and I tried to explain that they might be people who have more money or for whom remembering them with a statue is really important. When we were walking through the park today, he returned to the conversation when he saw this statue. "Mom, do you think God is buried there?" Wait until we take him to DC.


It's been very spring-like here the last few days - warm, sunny weather. Molly and Daniel are both wearing their summer uniforms when they can. The kid only have 2 and a half weeks of school left because we're coming up on a 2 week spring break, so Charlie and I took the camera to pick up today to capture some of the school scene.

Molly on Her Veranda

Charlie Greeting his Long Lost Sister, returning from the Veranda

Molly in full summer uniform and Daniel in summer sports uniform, including his special Year 6 shirt that all the Year 6 students can wear every Friday. And, Charlie, the South Coogee Public School wannabe. He's learning the school song by attending their assemblies. Molly (and many, many others) earned a bronze award yesterday for getting 5 star awards.